Kingdom Work

The recurring theme in my faith in Christ is Kingdom Work: the Lord rescues humans to participate in God’s Kingdom; humans respond to God’s rescue to be active subjects in God’s Kingdom. I understand that the Lord relates to the Creation as its Sovereign. In fact, any definition of our understanding of God is lacking if it does not contain description of God as the One Who Has Authority.

God’s authority is an integral part of the Lord’s character; Yahweh does not reign over creation out of boredom, but out of who the Lord is as King and Ruler of all that has been made. Humanity responds to Yahweh’s rule with either joyous acceptance of grace, ungracious indifference to God’s authority, or rebellious rejection of the Lord’s right to rule.

God relates to the Creation as its Sovereign. One of the primary descriptions of God in the Old Testament is “I Am”; the One who Exists. This implies that the various aspects of God’s character will impact how we understand who Yahweh is and why God does what God does. Genesis starts with the depiction of the Creation of the Universe. The act of creation shows that God is an Artist – the Lord takes joy in creation, and in the details necessary to complete that creative act.

As an artist, I have some insight into the process of creation; part of the joy of creating is the sheer creative act. Another integral part of creating is the joy of sharing that creation with others. God, being completely self sufficient, does not need to share the creation with anyone else, but it is apparent from Scripture that the Lord takes joy in demonstrating the nature of Deity to those in creation so that we in the creation can respond. In other words, it seems that God has created an audience for the opportunity to hear its response to Yahweh’s creative work.

The Lord’s Sovereign nature requires God to be at the center focus of creation itself. In humanity, this would be the sin of pride or egoism; however, God is able to be completely holy and sinless in the Lord’s desire to be known and respected as Sovereign of the Universe. Yahweh is, after all, the only one truly capable of fulfilling that role. Since God’s authority is an integral part of the Lord’s character, there is no conflict between the majesty of God’s creative act and the requirement for glory in recognition of that same act. Just as God’s love and justice do not cancel each other out but complement each other, so do God’s attributes of sovereignty and love. Yahweh is a just and good ruler who desires all of creation to recognize the Lord’s benevolence.

Humanity responds to Deity’s rule with either joyous acceptance of God’s grace, or rebellious rejection of the Lord’s right to rule. God’s design of humanity with the ability to choose to love or not to love emphasizes God’s sovereignty. God could have created humanity to only respond with unreasoned praise; however, praise which is forced does not truly reflect the attitude which is being initially sought through that praise. In other words, if the Lord had forced us to give God honor, that forcible act would not be honorable. It cancels itself out. The Lord’s authority does not force the issue, and makes God’s Kingdom worthwhile in our eyes.